


Some Rules Are Meant to be Broken

by orphan_account



Series: Fairy Tales: Not All Things End Happily Ever After [1]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: M/M, may or may not be death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-03
Updated: 2016-05-30
Packaged: 2018-06-06 05:24:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 14,124
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6740077
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It was all an accident that Oikawa Tooru, a powerful fae, happened to meet a young Iwaizumi Hajime, a human.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

“Gather around, children,” the silver-haired fairy called, his tone as sweet as the morning dew gently resting on the grass.  He flapped his powerful, feathered wings, their color resembling that of a cloud, until he rested on the soft brush below.  Three young fairies buzzed around him as he tried to settle them down, but their energy was especially out-of-hand.

“But Sugawara-san,” the child with the flame-colored hair complained.  “Why must we?  It’s so beautiful, and there’s no wind today!”

“Because, Hinata-kun” Sugawara paused, looking at the young fairy.   _How gorgeous his wings,_ the silver-headed fairy thought to himself.  The wings of the orange-haired fairy were a delicate ivory, but almost appeared iridescent.  “I have a story to tell you.”

“A story?” the messy-haired brunette landed on the ground quickly, too-quickly in fact, as he tumbled onto his head.  The last young fairy, a quiet black-haired boy, snickered.

“That’s not nice now, is it, Kageyama-kun?” Sugawara raised an eyebrow and pursed his lips.  Kageyama’s ocean-blue eyes darted away as he sat down, his black-and-white speckled wings tucking behind him politely.  “Yamaguchi-kun, are you alright?”

“I’m okay!” the brunette popped back up and eagerly beamed at the elder, his freckles wrinkling along his face as the grin pulled at his lips.

“Good,” Sugawara smiled warmly.  “A long time ago, thousands of years, actually, the fairies guarded the world.”  A butterfly, it’s wings dusted with pale yellow, landed on Hinata’s nose; the young boy sneezed, startling the small creature, as the other two laughed.  Sugawara continued on anyways, smiling with patience from decades of practice.

“The world was so beautiful.  My children, the world was just so stunning.  If you think it was beautiful now, it was even more beautiful then.”

“Is that even possible?” Hinata’s amber eyes sparkled like stars, gazing up admirably as Sugawara.

“It is,” the silver-haired fairy ruffled the younger’s hair, in between the two pearly horns that appeared through his mess of hair.  “Flowers grew everywhere.  And oh, the colors: reds as bright as a cardinal, bright blue like the midday sky, pinks like the sunset, purples, yellows… it was incredible.  All the animals lived in harmony as well.  The cycle was perfect and life was the most amazing gift anyone could receive.”

“What about the humans?” Yamaguchi furrowed his eyebrows in thought.

“The humans were very righteous and peaceful,” Sugawara responded to the children’s astonishment.  “They were good to the earth and loved everything as much as us.  The humans and fairies got along very closely, actually; they mingled and lived together for a long, long time.  However, life never stayed perfect forever.”  Sugawara gently stroked the petals of a flower residing beside him, it’s leaves practically reaching toward the fairy.

“There was a man, among the humans, who loved power.  He loved it so much that it overtook his life, and he wanted more of it.  He became the king of a specific area, before conquering hundreds of other small kingdoms.  He was highly regarded amongst the humans and the humans, until he did something that would change the relationship between humans and fairies forever.

“He began enslaving the fairies and using them for their powers.  Humans are not magical like us,” Sugawara paused for effect, bringing his hand up and twirling it, a few sparkles appearing from his hands, as the children looked on in fascination.  “Because they were not blessed like powers as we were, the humans began taking us in and forcing us to do work.”

“That isn’t right!” Hinata’s wings fluttered furiously, his young face twisted in anger.

“That’s what all the fairies thought,” the elder nodded his head wisely.  “We began fighting with humans and it became an all-out war.  The fairies fought with their powers and the will to free all of their heir for hundreds of generations, but the humans were too powerful.  With their own forms of manufactured magic, they defeated the fairies, in the entire world.”

“All of the fairies?” Kageyama asked quietly.  His blue eyes were tingling with anticipation, and all of the young fairies were leaning forward in anticipation.

“Not all of the fairies,” Sugawara’s hazel eyes gleamed with hope.  “A very small group made it out and lived in hiding for many, many years.  They eventually began to repopulate and the fairy population has grown, to what it is today.”  Sugawara’s silver wings sprung out unexpectedly and he swooped into the air, his arms extending with flourish.  They continued to flap as the younger fairies aggressively flapped their wings, joining him in the air as they surveyed the hidden mountain valley, watching the buzzing activities of the fairies.

“Wow!” Yamaguchi gasped, flying in a loop before turning back to Sugawara.

“I’m going to fight the humans!” Hinata pumped his fist in the air.

“I’m going to defeat them first!” Kageyama retorted, managing to hit Hinata with his multi-colored wings.

“Now, now,” Sugawara chuckled lightly.  “We are on good terms with the humans.  We stay here and they do not bother us.”

“I still want to fight them!” Hinata stubbornly replied.

“Me too!”

“Me three!”

A fairy, sitting on a tree branch, watched the youngsters, taking a deep breath and reminiscing his younger days, so many decades ago.  He held his white wing, subconsciously checking for any feathers that may have been out of place.  His cedar-colored irises glanced back up to the children as Sugawara flew away, the younger fairies following quickly.

“Hello, Oikawa,” a deep voice sounded from above.  The tree shook as a fairy landed above Oikawa, before they hopped down to join him on a branch.  His broad shoulders were hidden by his brown wings, now tucked-in.   _How can he be blessed with such beautiful wings_ , Oikawa selfishly thought, looking at the other’s wings: delicately spotted with a variety of browns, they resembled the wings of a hawk.  The other fairy was adorned with short beige horns, while Oikawa had medium-length, nearly-black horns..

“Sawamura,” Oikawa replied with a slight grin.  “Beautiful day, no breeze.”

“I agree,” Sawamura nodded his head.  “These youngsters sure are something, huh?  They’re a handful.”

“I personally haven’t interacted with them,” Oikawa shrugged.  “And I don’t know if I have the patience to do so.”

“Funny you say that,” Sawamura remarked, adjusting the tunic that covered his body.  “You may be mentoring one of them very soon.”

“What?!” Oikawa’s wings spread out as he tensed up.  
“Yes…”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean,” he paused, giving Oikawa a quizzical look.  “Kageyama-kun, the raven-haired boy, is showing signs of having light power, like you.”

“No, I won’t believe it.”

“You better.  Why are you so against it, anyways?  It wasn’t so long ago that you were their age.”

“Yeah, only 90-some years,” Oikawa bitterly replied.

“Tooru,” Sawamura grabbed the other fairy’s shoulder.  “You would make a great mentor.  You’ve really come along with your power, and can control it very well.  Also - “

“How do you know that Kageyama even has light powers?” the fluffy-haired brunette retorted.

“We’ve seen him trying to figure out his powers, recently,” Sawamura explained calmly, ignoring Oikawa’s obvious tone.  “Akaashi saw him testing his powers.  Apparently he saw bursts of light coming from his hands, which he said was _very_ similar to yours.  He’s also a quick learner, so he might start using them faster than we think.  And we want him to have full control of them, of course.”

“No,” Oikawa huffed, turning away and crossing his arms over his top.  “I have zero patience, you should know that!”

“This will be good for you.”

“No!”  
“Think about it, at least,” Sawamura pressed, before giving up with a sigh.

“Sawamura-san!” a voice pierced the air.

“Akaashi?” Sawamura stood up on the sturdy branch, leaping off and flying up.  Oikawa rolled his eyes, and, even though his name wasn’t called, flew out, following Sawamura.  The other fairy was flying in place, staring up to see Oikawa’s childhood friend, Akaashi, from atop the meeting place: it was a high plateau where the entire fairy realm was visible.

“The council is having a meeting,” Akaashi replied, stretching his charcoal-gray wings.  “Tooru, you can come, too.”

“Really?” Oikawa shot upwards, landing on the stone ground within seconds.  “Finally, I get invited to a meeting.”

“Impatient, are we?” Akaashi raised an eyebrow, a smirk tugging at his lips.

“You would know that best out of all people.”

“Well, they’ve been wanting you to join for a while, but you just talk too much.”

“Hey!”

“I didn’t say it,” Akaashi held his hands up.  “Even if it _is_ true.”

“Again?!”

“No bickering!” Sawamura scolded from behind the two fairies.  The plateau dipped in the center, where the rest of the council sat on stone mounds.  5 fairies, Tendou, Semi, Yahaba, Nishinoya, and the eldest, Ukai, were waiting.  Tendou’s lips turned up in a smirk as he saw Oikawa walking towards the group.  
“So the chatter-box _is_ joining us?” Tendou taunted.  
“Oh, shut up,” Oikawa hissed, sitting beside Yahaba, an ice-wielder.  Tendou brought his hand up, traces of fire skimming across the palm of his hand, as he looked past his hand and at Oikawa.

“Is it just me or is it - “ Suddenly, Nishinoya sprayed a burst of water from his palm and hit Tendou’s hand, causing the flames to transform into steam, a hissing noise escaping as the liquid evaporated.  “What was that for?”

“To shut you up,” Nishinoya snorted.  
“Well-”

“Why are the members of this so immature?” Sawamura questioned, directing the question towards Ukai.

“Entertainment purposes,” the old fairy blinked calmly as the fairies settled down.  “No, I think they are strong leaders and necessary for keeping our people at peace.”

“I beg to differ,” Sawamura muttered under his breath.

“What brings us together, Ukai-san?” Akaashi politely inquired.

“Apparently, the humans are exploring farther into the Avalon Forest,” Ukai told the group.  “I want to make sure we don’t let any fairies go farther than the south border of the forest.”

“Then why don’t we just cut it off completely?” Yahaba suggested.  
“I agree,” Tendou nodded his head, not saying something sarcastic for once.  “We don’t use it for anything, do we?”

“The soil down there is good for growing crops,” Nishinoya replied.  “The mountain soil isn’t very good.”

“Then why don’t we expand on the other side of the mountain?” Oikawa asked.

“Humans are over there,” Sawamura shook his head.  “We’re practically surrounded!”

“I say we abandon the forest,” Tendou narrowed his eyes.  “If we want to protect our people, that’s the safest choice.”

“Yes,” Yahaba nodded his head curtly.

“No,” Nishinoya argued.  “The majority of our food comes from the farthest, from the meadow by the waterfall.  What will we do without the crops from there?”

“Nishinoya is right,” Akaashi added.  “We would be in the midst of a famine…”  All of the fairies in the council began arguing back and forth, Oikawa taking it all in quietly.  His eyes met with Ukai’s, who studied him with a cool gaze.  Some emotion overtook the elder’s eyes, indescribable to Oikawa, but the elder stood up and, grasping his wooden staff, stepped in the middle.

“Since we obviously cannot come to an agreement,” Ukai silenced the group with his words.  “We will discuss this later.  For now, just monitor that border and make sure the number of fairies going there isn’t too high.  Is that clear?”

“Yes.”

“Alright.  This meeting is dismissed.”  The fairies all spread their wings and began to fly away, save for Ukai, who lived in a cave at the top of the plateau.  Oikawa couldn’t help but feel restless and a little let-down as he flew away, beside his gray-winged friend.

“What’s wrong, Tooru?”

“Nothing.”

“Don’t ‘nothing’ me,” Akaashi rolled his eyes, before stopping in midair.

“Fine,” Oikawa sighed.  “That meeting wasn’t as exciting as I thought.  I thought we were going to declare war on the humans or something, for Fae’s sake!”

“Of course you did,” the dark brunette shook his head.  “All the meetings are like that.   _I_ don’t find them boring, but I’m not surprised you did.”

“It’s whatever.”

“Why don’t we go duel with Nishinoya and Tendou?” Akaashi suggested.  “Duels are always fun.”

“I’d rather not get scorched or drown to death,” Oikawa dryly said.

“You’re being such an ass today,” Akaashi huffed.  “Well, I’m going to go duel with them, and you can join me or not.”  With one flap of his great wings, the other fairy was swooping down into the mountain valley, slowly becoming smaller in Oikawa’s sight.  

The brunette gazed at the gorgeous valley beneath him as his wings gently flapped.  Narrowing his brown eyes, Oikawa took in each detail: each tree, each flower, each creature that littered the valley.  Fairies flew around, traveling between the fairly large area, fairies of different ages.  Young fairies played with each other, while others resided in trees or by the stream, cooling themselves off.

“Tch,” Oikawa snapped, breaking his gaze.   _How could all the fairies be so different?_  Some had long, beautifully intricate horns, while others didn’t even have horns (like Akaashi).  Then the variety of wings that existed amongst the species: even though they were all feathered, there were probably hundreds of thousands of color and pattern possibilities.  And of those possibilities, Oikawa got stuck with white.  Plain, boring, white.

With a scowl, Oikawa flew away from the village, away from the valley, and away from the mountain.  He bit his lip in angry frustration, as he didn’t want to take on an apprentice, and the stress of the fairies being a minority in the world.  The humans were quickly developing, and how much longer until they would be able to conquer the mountain?  

 _We’ll cross that bridge when we get there_ , Oikawa thought to himself, diving through the clouds in the sky.  The water burned his eyes so he shut them, reappearing under the cloud and right by the forest.  He stopped flapping his wings and outstretched them to slow down, before landing on the branches of a tree.  He crawled down the branches like an experienced cat, before he heard rustling and stopped, instinct kicking in as he froze.

Oikawa’s eyes darted around, as he realized he was farther towards the human’s territory of the forest.   _I need to leave_ , his thoughts told him.  His gaze landed on a figure, at the bottom of the forest floor.  A small boy was running through the brush, laughing and humming to himself.  Oikawa cocked his head to the side and narrowed his eyes, examining the boy.

Spiky, dark brown hair stook up from his head, and a smile plastered his face while a rosy blush sat on his cheeks, probably from running around.  He was skinny, quite thin, actually, but nonetheless continued on with strength and courage.  The forest was dark, save for the occasional rays of sunlight that poked through the leaves on the trees.

Oikawa agilely leapt from tree to tree, following the boy as he wandered in the forest.  Even though he was a human, something was so fascinating, so _intriguing_ about him.  Was it the carefree way he explored, all alone?  Or was it purely the fact that a human was just a few wingspans away, when he had never seen a human before?  Oikawa didn’t have any idea, but he kept following the child.

More rustling was heard, and Oikawa wondered if another human was behind the child.  The child turned around quickly, though, and the fairy felt a weird emotion stick into his chest.  His muscles tensed and he leaned forward, watching the child’s face twist into fear.

A massive beast, unlike any Oikawa had ever seen, leapt out of the brush.  It was covered with gray fur, and long, sharp jaws lined it’s mouth.  A snarl escaped it’s mouth, yet the child grabbed a stick and held it out shakily towards the beast.

“Stay away!” his voice cried.  The creature didn’t back off, though, and instead lunged forward.  It snatched the stick from the boy’s and, snapping it in half.  A scream left the boy as he fell to the ground.

Despite his instincts screaming at him to stay out of it, Oikawa flew down faster than he had ever in his entire life.  He swooped in front of the child, looming over the child and the creature.  It seemed surprised but let out a rough bark, but Oikawa raised his hand in a flash and flicked his wrist, a blast of light shooting towards the animal.  The beast howled in pain, rubbings it’s face with it’s paw, before running away with a few whimpers.

Oikawa stared as the beast ran off, when he felt a tug.  He whipped his head around to see the small boy clutching his white, feathered wing.  Oikawa gasped slightly and grabbed his wing, tugging it out of the boy’s grasp.  The boy pursed his lips, looking up at Oikawa.

“Are you an angel?” his voice was stronger than the fairy had expected.

“No,” Oikawa replied, a bit too sharply; he realized this, and softened his voice.  “I’m a fairy, actually.”

“Fairies don’t have horns!”

“Neither do angels!”

“Hmph!” The boy sassily crossed his arms, and Oikawa couldn’t hold back the smile that formed on his face.

“Well,” Oikawa crouched down, eye-level with the human boy.  “I thought you were very brave for facing that creature.”

“You did?” the stoic expression on the young boy’s face mollified.  “But you saved me!  You must be my guardian angel!”

“Maybe I am,” Oikawa sagely said aloud, mainly to himself, as he gazed at the adorable boy.

“My name is Iwaizumi,” the boy announced.  “And I’m going to be the best knight in the whole kingdom!”

“I’m sure you are,” Oikawa ruffled the boy’s hair.  His sour mood from before had completely vanished, and he couldn’t help the overwhelming feeling of lightness and delight filling his chest.  “I am Tooru, but why are you all by yourself?”

“I wanted to go exploring,” Iwaizumi simply answered, as if it weren’t a big deal.

“Well, Iwa-chan,” Oikawa stood up, using a sing-song voice.  “You may want to head home now.”

“But _why_?”

“Because you must be pretty far from home,” Oikawa lied.  He really didn’t think it was safe for a human child to be out alone in the forest.

“But… I don’t want to leave you!” Iwaizumi argued.  “What if… what if you need me to protect you?”

“I can protect myself,” Oikawa shrugged.  “We will meet again, Iwa-chan, okay?”

“Okay.  Goodbye, Tooru!” the small boy began running away, before jogging back and hugging Oikawa’s leg tightly.  His breath hitched in his throat as he watched Iwaizumi run away quickly, disappearing from his vision.

“I hope to see him again, maybe,” Oikawa murmured to himself.

And see him again, he did.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so this happened when i saw a picture of Oikawa from the Haikyuu!! Quest and now i am crying over this AU
> 
> leave a comment or maybe tap the Kudos, who knows... thanks for reading though :)


	2. Chapter 2

“I’ll be back before sundown,” Oikawa waved Yahaba off, leaping off the ground and flapping his powerful wings.

“Where are you going?” the ice-fairy called.

“Exploring!” Oikawa grinned as he flew up, towards the open sky.  It was a gorgeous day with no clouds, but it wasn’t too hot that he was uncomfortable.  The sun warmed Oikawa as he glided through the air, spiraling and laughing to himself.

The mountains disappeared from beneath him and Oikawa found himself flying above the forest, close to the human territory.  He swooped in, opening his wings up to slow himself down as he silently landed in a large tree, elegantly climbing down the sturdy branches as he gazed upon the lush forest floor.  He leaned forward and narrowed his eyes, his lips forming a smirk.

Oikawa perked up, though, when he heard rustling.  Hiding behind one of the main large branches, Oikawa peeked around the corner and smiled at what he saw.  Iwaizumi was riding a horse in the forest, looking around.  The fae bit his lip to keep from laughing out loud at the cluelessness of the human.

“I know you’re there, Tooru,” Iwaizumi’s strong voice carried throughout the forest.  “Don’t even try to hide.”

“Oh, for Fae’s sake, Iwa-chan!” Oikawa leapt out of the tree and flew down, landing a few meters in front of the horse.  It seemed startled, but Iwaizumi dismounted and rubbed its neck, soothing the creature immediately.

“You’ve always been the worst at sneaking up on people,” Iwaizumi commented as he approached the fairy.  Oikawa put his hands on his hips, a pout enveloping his face, as Iwaizumi broke into laughter.

“ _ You _ don’t have huge wings hanging off of you,” Oikawa retorted.

“I think I would rather have wings.”

“They’re  _ so  _ heavy.”

“But you can fly!”

“Flying is tiring.”

“Did you intend for that to rhyme?” the human bantered as the two walked through the forest.  They bumped shoulders casually, even though the fae stood a good few inches taller than the human.  Oikawa glanced over at Iwaizumi a, smile across both of their faces, before turning away and watching the path ahead of them.

“Where are we walking?” Iwaizumi asked, even though he continued forward.

“I don’t know,” Oikawa shrugged.  “Wait, I know somewhere!  Come with me.”  Oikawa grabbed Iwaizumi’s arm and the two began jogging through the forest, for a good half-mile or so.  They were becoming out of breath, but that didn’t stop the eager fae nor the human.  Oikawa began to slow down as he approached familiar land, and the two stopped to catch their breaths.

“I’ve been here before,” Iwaizumi remarked boredly.

“It’s not here,” Oikawa panted.  “Just a little farther.  I just found this place a fortnight ago or so, and I’ve been meaning to show you.”  Oikawa grabbed Iwaizumi’s hand and couldn’t help but notice the tingling sensation he felt, almost as if he were about to use a burst of his light energy.  The forest came to a clearing and there was a pond, leading to a steep waterfall from the river that cascaded off of the mountain.

“It’s pretty,” the human observed, pausing for a moment to bend down and dip his hand in the crystal clear water.  A few fish swam around and gazed up at Iwaizumi.

“Farther,” Oikawa murmured, practically dragging Iwaizumi back to his feet.  He pulled Iwaizumi around, towards the waterfall.

“What are you doing?”

“Let’s go!” Oikawa jumped behind the roaring water, Iwaizumi jumping with him, and the two landed in some water, covering a stone path.  The fae confidently walked into a cavern, hidden behind the large waterfall, and didn’t even have to turn back to know Iwaizumi was following him.

“I feel like this is pretty close to the fae territory,” Iwaizumi mumbled, brushing his hand against the stone walls, tracing a design with his finger.

“It is,” Oikawa replied.  “We’re right under the entrance to our territory.”

“How did you find this anyways?”

“Exploring.”

“Is that all you do?’   
“...yes.”  The cavern was beginning to get dark, so Oikawa raised his hand in front of him and generated a light source from the palm of his hand.  He turned his head, glancing at Iwaizumi, as a lazy smile appeared on his face.  “We’re close, I promise.”

“My steed is probably gone by now,” Iwaizumi groaned, following Oikawa nonetheless.  Oikawa made a left into a small cavern before hopping into the middle and sitting on the floor.  

“Come sit!” he patted the space next to him, and Iwaizumi sat next to the fae.  

“There is an occurrence that we faes call the ‘Rainbow Twilight’,’” Oikawa began.  “They haven’t been seen since the human-fae war, but I think I’ve found them.”

“What are you doing-”

“Watch.”

Oikawa lay on his back, Iwaizumi copying him, and raised his hand.  Another flash of light burst from his palm, and he directed it all over the ceiling of the cavern: it was dome-shaped, and hundreds of stones and gems glistened with the contact of the light.  Oikawa’s face lit up childishly and he glanced over at Iwaizumi, who’s face held fascination and concentration.  Oikawa let one more burst of light overtake the minerals, before putting his hand on the ground.

The colors seemed to leak from the gems and into the atmosphere of the cavern, pale and vibrant hues of pink, green, blue, and every color in between swarming into one central area.  They spun around each other, danced with one another, each to its own rhythm.  The colors didn’t mix into one universal hue, and instead stayed individually bright and entrancing.  The yellow lights moved quickly, with unbound energy, while the purple glows moved more slowly and delicately, bending and twisting with meticulousness.  

“Tooru…”

“Isn’t it pretty?” Oikawa leapt up and lifted his hand, his face lit up with an array of colors as they swarmed around him, welcoming him into his arms.  He held his hand up to the air, the pink light eagerly snaking between his fingers.  Iwaizumi stood up and watched in enthrallment as green and orange lights twisted around his body, taunting him.

“This is amazing.”  The lights slowly began to fade, disappearing into the air, and there was only the faintest glow left in the room as Oikawa gazed upon the human standing in front of him.  An enormous feeling of nostalgia washed over him.

“Isn’t it weird,” Oikawa murmured.  “How we, a human and a fae, are here?  Right now?”

“That’s… unusual to mention,” Iwaizumi furrowed his eyebrows.  “What do you mean?”

“It’s just…” the fae trailed off, not being able to form words.  There stood before him, a young human who had been so little and weak when Oikawa first met him.  That young boy became a teenager, and was now a young man, ready to take his own place in the human world.  His scrawny, twig-skinny limbs had filled out and he was now muscular and handsome, and he had grown more agile and strong throughout the years.  With the physical changes, Oikawa had also noticed the change in their relationship dynamic.  Oikawa was once a parental figure, then a mentor; a friend, and now it seemed, a brother. 

“I think I know what you mean,” Iwaizumi said quietly, looking into Tooru’s deep brown eyes with his own hazel.  Oikawa rapidly stepped towards Iwaizumi and grabbed his wrist, smiling softly.

“It scares me how fast you grew up,” Oikawa quietly added, looking away and clenching his eyes shut.  He could see the young, small Iwaizumi standing in front of him with his eyes closed, but when he opened them, he was gripping the strong, steady hand of a mature Iwaizumi.

“It scares me how slow you age,” Iwaizumi shot back, squeezing Oikawa’s hand before letting it go.  A snort escaped Oikawa as he looked back up at Iwaizumi, a smirk plastered to the human’s face.

“Come on,” Oikawa exited the cavern, and began walking towards the exit, a bright, blinding light being their way out.  The roar of the waterfall filled their ears once again as they walked back around, to the opposite side of the pond, close to the edge of the forest.  

“That was amazing,” Iwaizumi beamed, but his smile faded.  “But, Tooru, I have to-”

“Tooru!” a voice called.  Oikawa froze, the voice unmistakably Akaashi’s.  

“Hajime, hide,” Oikawa shoved Iwaizumi around a tree and into some bushes before turning around.  Akaashi swooped down and crossed his arms as Oikawa looked at him, feigning confusion.

“How’d you know I was here?” Oikawa questioned.

“Yahaba told me you flew off, again,” Akaashi sighed.  “What is up with you recently?”   
“What do you mean?” Oikawa fought, even though he was deathly afraid that Akaashi would see through him.

“Don’t even deny it,” Akaashi’s tone was sharp, his blue eyes equally piercing as his tone.  “For the past… Fae, how long?  You’ve been running off, disappearing from sun-up to sun-down, and come back saying you’re ‘exploring.’  What are you doing, Tooru?  I’m worried about you.”

“Why are you worried about me?” Oikawa spat.  “Can I not have a life, on my own?”

“Not when you have been doing the same thing for the past 10 years, and nobody still knows what you’re doing,” the gray-winged fairy argued.  “I just don’t want you to get hurt.”

“I’m not a child, Akaashi!” Oikawa felt his hands burn with energy.

“I’m not saying you are!”

Suddenly, Oikawa threw his hand up and shot a beam of light at Akaashi.  The other fae flicked his wrist and the air rippled, sending the energy back towards Oikawa.  The latter absorbed the power back into his hands, his fingertips tingling.

“Don’t resort to violence,” Akaashi pleaded.  “Let’s go back to the valley and we can talk, okay?”

“No,” Oikawa hissed, turning away.  “You go on back, Keiji.  I don’t deserve you, just go and forget me.”

“But Toor-”

“I said go!” Oikawa commanded, stalking away.  He paused as he heard the sound of fluttering, and he knew Akaashi was gone.  “Hajime, are you alright?”

“I’m fine,” Iwaizumi appeared from behind a bush.  “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.”

“Obviously not.”

“You wouldn’t understand.”

“Hey,” Iwaizumi grabbed Oikawa’s arm.  “Just tell me, okay?”  The way Iwaizumi’s hazel eyes looked into Oikawa’s melted his frustrations and he sighed, relieving himself from built-up tension. 

“Akaashi is just worried about me because I’m always gone,” Oikawa told the human.

“Because you’re with me,” Iwaizumi finished.

“Yes.  And if they knew I was interacting with a human… I would probably be exiled, honestly,” Oikawa rubbed a hand through his hair, his hand instinctively grabbing one of his horns, and his fingers nervously played with the ivory.

“Well, Tooru, I have to tell you something,” Iwaizumi began walking back, so Oikawa followed after him.  “You’re not going to like this.”

“Oh, Fae.”

“The reason I haven’t seen you for a few days is because…” Hajime paused with a deep exhale, not being able to bring his eyes to Oikawa’s.  “I am going away.  I’m leaving.”

“Why?” Oikawa shouted, his wings stretching out.  “Is it because of me?”

“No!” Iwaizumi turned to face Oikawa, his face incredulous.  “Of course not, Tooru.  It’s because… well, there’s a war going on.  It’s between our kingdom and an opposing kingdom, and they need knights, people to fight.  So one man from every family has to go to the kingdom and train for battle, and then go into battle.”

“You’re becoming a knight.”

“Yes.”

“Just like you always said,” Oikawa’s voice had quieted down, but that didn’t stop the bitterness that seeped into his tone.

“I know it seems so abrupt, but I’m leaving tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow?!”

“Yes,” Iwaizumi ducked his head.

“Are you  _ trying _ to kill me?” Oikawa balled his hands up into fists, looking at Iwaizumi, his eyes flaring with betrayal.

“Stop with that,” Iwaizumi snapped.  “Do you think I  _ wanted _ to do this?”  The two continued walking, a stiff silence between them, only their feet against the forest floor breaking their silence, along with the sounds of nature: birds chirping loudly, bugs buzzing, and a gentle breeze occasionally blowing the vegetation.

“It’s not because of me?” Oikawa selfishly asked.

“No, Tooru,” Iwaizumi grabbed Oikawa’s shoulders and forced the fae to face him.  “I promise.”  Oikawa suddenly grabbed Iwaizumi and hugged him, resting his head on the human’s.  They stayed like that for a few moments, until Oikawa turned his head.

“Your horn is about to slit my throat,” Iwaizumi complained.  A slight chuckle came out of Oikawa’s mouth and he looked up at his friend.  

“Make me proud, okay?” Oikawa raised his eyebrows.

“I will,” Iwaizumi nodded his head curtly, his face twisting in sadness.

“Wait.”  Oikawa grabbed his wing and braced himself for a moment before plucking one of the feathers off, but it just felt like someone was pinching him.  “This may seem stupid, but in fae culture, it is a great honor if a fairy offers you a feather from their wing.  It’s like they’re giving a part of themselves to the other, and… I want you to have this.”  Oikawa spun the feather around his fingers before delicately handing it to Iwaizumi.  “I know it’s boring and white, but-”

“Thank you,” Iwaizumi graciously accepted the gift, and touched the feather with such caution, afraid to damage the offering.  “It means a lot to me.”

“Well, Iwa-chan,” Oikawa stood tall.  “I will visit you, alright?”

“Isn’t it far away?”

“It would be worth it.”

“How will I know?”

“I’ll… I’ll… Fae,” Oikawa turned away.  “I’ll let you know somehow, okay?”

“Okay,” Iwaizumi nodded his head.  The two looked up and, fortunately, saw Iwaizumi’s horse standing in the exact same spot.  “I guess this is goodbye for now, Tooru.”

“Goodbye, Hajime.”  Iwaizumi mounted up and galloped off, and Oikawa soared into the air, through the tree branches and leaves, and high above the forest; he watched as a small figure galloped out of the woods and toward the human civilization. 

It felt like a knife was stuck into Oikawa’s chest and someone twisted it, but the fae bit his lip and flew away from the forest, the last time he ever would.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IwaOi? IwaOi
> 
> I hope you guys like this chapter! Things are going to get.... interesting pretty soon :)


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> warning: death

Iwaizumi slipped through the loud crowd in the kingdom, pulling his hood above his head more so it would cover his face.  There were hundreds of people gathered around, trying to become a soldier of the Kingdom of Ditus, one of the most powerful kingdoms in the region.  Lots of shouting surrounded Iwaizumi as gruff voices roared from around him.

“Everyone settle down, settle down!” a tall official demanded, black hair sticking out from his head.  “We are trying to go through this as quickly as possible.”  The line thinned out and Iwaizumi was soon up to the area, hundreds of eyes on him.

“Name?” a reddish haired knight asked, narrowing his eyes. 

“Iwaizumi Hajime, of Eldham,” he responded politely.

“Eldham?” the knight raised his eyebrows.  “That’s a first.  Well, you seem to be in good enough physical condition, so come with us.”  The raven-haired knight grabbed Iwaizumi’s shoulder and pushed him forward gently, walking side-by-side and leading him through a large building; it resembled the castle, but it wasn’t nearly as large and extravagant.

“This is the soldier’s quarters,” the knight explained.  “You will be living with two other soldiers, but I don’t know who you are with.”

“Okay,” Iwaizumi nodded his head, looking up at the knight.

“I forgot to introduce myself, forgive me,” he apologized.  “I am Sir Matsukawa, but you can call me Mattsun.  I don’t place large emphasis on titles and all that.”

“Good to know.”  The two walked through the stone hallways of the building, other soldiers-in-training walking by and getting settled in.

“Here are your quarters,” Matsukawa gestured to a room, opening the door; it wasn’t very big, only consisting of 3 beds and two dressers.

“Thank you,” Iwaizumi bowed, and the knight left him to his room.  Iwaizumi shut the door and lowered his hood, walking over to the single window in the small room.  His hazel eyes took in the view: the courtyard of the large structure was filled with trees and lush vegetation, similar to the forest.   _ The forest. _

“I wonder how Tooru is…” Iwaizumi wondered aloud, unpacking his few belongings.  The door burst back open and he whipped his head around to see a different knight, with two other people in tow.

“Oh,” the knight paused.  “Your comrade is already here.  Well, become acquainted and such.  No fighting or you  _ will _ be thrown out.”  The knight walked away and the two rookies grinned at each other before barging into the room.

“Kuro, would ya’ look at that?” the smaller one ran over to the window and looked out.  His hair was definitely the most striking part of his appearance; black roots faded to nearly white ends, as the hair hung in front of his beaming face.

“Ay, we have the best view!” the taller commented, walking over and resting his head on the other’s shoulder.  This young man had messy black hair, and mischievous eyes.  Both of their eyes were light brown, nearly gold, and they looked as if they could pass for brothers.

“What’s your name, Quiet-san?” the frosty-haired one turned around abruptly, sitting on a bed.

“Iwaizumi Hajime,” he replied politely.  “And you?”

“I’m Bokuto Koutarou,” he stuck a thumb to his chest.  “Call me Bo!”

“I’m Kuroo Tetsurou,” the other plopped down on one of the beds.  “Call me Kuro!”

“Oh, you’re not brothers,” Iwaizumi said, before realizing it wasn’t a thought.  “Oh, pardon me.  I just - “

“Hey, hey, hey!” Bokuto threw his arms in the air, nearly hitting Iwaizumi.  “That’s the best compliment we could get!”

“We’ve been friends since childhood,” Kuroo explained.  “We’re close.”

“I thought you were,” Iwaizumi nodded his head.

“Tell us about yourself!” Bokuto eagerly leaned forward.

“I’m not interesting.”

“Sure you are!”

“I’m not, honest,” the brunette shrugged.

“Then why are you here?” Kuroo pressed.  Iwaizumi frowned for a moment, in thought.

“Well,” he paused, looking up at the two as their eyes stayed on him.  “It’s always been a… kind of a dream, I guess, to become a knight.  Ever since I was little…” His thoughts trailed off to times he would be in the woods, fighting with sticks against Oikawa, and eventually with dull swords as they grew older and more mature.

“Yes?” Kuroo interrupted his thoughts.

“I don’t know,” Iwaizumi sighed.  “I heard they were recruiting soldiers and knights to fight in the war, and I just felt this calling.”

“That was interesting!” Bokuto exclaimed loudly, causing Iwaizumi to jump.

“... thanks.  Why did you guys join?”

“One man from every family was required to join,” Kuroo explained.  “And being the brave men we are, Bo and I jumped on it.”

“Except for the time you were scared of a rabbit that hopped out of the bushes,” Bokuto began cackling, earning a punch from Kuroo.

“It  _ startled me _ !” Kuroo argued.

“Okay, okay,” Bokuto raised his hands.  “Anyways, Iwaizumi, who did you come here with?”

“Nobody…” Iwaizumi furrowed his eyebrows together.

“Nobody?!”

“Well, you’re with us now,” Kuroo slung his arm around Iwaizumi and ruffled his hair.  Iwaizumi rolled his eyes but laughed.   _ These two sure are something… _  An abrupt knock sounded on the door before it was pushed open, revealing Matsukawa.

“General Ushijima is holding a meeting in the courtyard, you must go down immediately,” he informed.

“Yes, sir,” Iwaizumi stood up quickly, the other two following suit.

“Respect…” Matsukawa grinned.  “The General will like that.”  There seemed to be hundreds of men jogging through the hallways, and as they didn’t know where they were going, the 3 rookies followed them, down a winding staircase and through multiple hallways, before entering the courtyard.  There were already many people gathered around a platform in the center, where the most important people resided.  One of them in particular stood out: doned in spotless armor and broad, strong shoulders, Iwaizumi was nearly positive that he was the General.  The people are crowded together, getting as close to the platform as possible.

“Is that the general?” Bokuto whispered, gesturing towards the broad-shouldered man.

“I think so,” Iwaizumi answered.  The thought-to-be general turned around, his hazel eyes scanning the crowd judgingly.

“Silence, please,” his deep voice echoed.  A crisp silence hushed the crowd in moments, partially because of his natural authority and partially because he seemed like somebody to avoid causing trouble with.  “I want to thank you all for your sacrifice, in order to fight for what is right and just in our kingdom.  I am General Ushijima, and I will be in charge of your training.  This is a  _ very _ rapid and  _ very _ strenuous training regime, and it will last for 4 fortnights.”

“4 fortnights?” Kuroo mumbled.  “What are we, dogs?”

“If we feel that you are lacking in any of the areas and not fit to fight for the king,” General Ushijima paused.  “You will be sent away immediately.”  Murmurs roamed the crowd until Ushijima held his hand up.  “You are all dismissed, be ready for your first session tomorrow at sunrise.”  The crowd began to move in multiple directions, and Iwaizumi lost his new friends within moments.  Deciding to get away from everyone, he wandered out of the courtyard and towards a small grove of trees, just a small distance away.  The sun was beginning to set, dyeing the sky a variety of bright shades, and Iwaizumi couldn’t help but realize how reminiscent it was of the magical lights Oikawa had shown him.

“Oh, Tooru,” Iwaizumi sighed to himself with a slight laugh, sitting down once he got to the trees.  He was in the center of a small, almost circular, formation of trees, and the sun’s last rays just barely met his skin, warming him.

“You called?” a voice from above asked, and Iwaizumi looked up in shock.  A shadow covered over him, until the all-too familiar figure of the fae landed beside him.

“What are you doing here?!” Iwaizumi questioned.

“I wanted to scout out the land!” Oikawa grinned.  “To see where we could meet safely and such.  This is actually the best spot I’ve found so far.”

“You’re such an idiot,” Iwaizumi rolled his eyes, even though he slung his arm around the fairy’s shoulder.

“How are you?” 

“I’m doing pretty well.  I have the two most talkative roommates in the entire kingdom, but they’re a good bunch.”

“Really now?” Amusement covered Oikawa’s face, warmly illuminated by the evening sun.

“Yeah.”  The two sat in silence for a moment, just taking in one another’s presence.

“Oh, I forgot to mention, I came up with a plan!” Oikawa’s brown eyes danced eagerly.

“Yes?”

“I’ll leave an Aster flower in your room whenever I want to meet you,” the fae explained.  “Then we can meet up that night.”

“How are you going to get it into the room?”

“I’m a fairy, Iwa-chan.”

“Whatever,” Iwaizumi laughed, lightly hitting Oikawa in the arm.  They bantered back and forth for a few minutes, the sun sinking behind the trees, and eventually, the horizon.  Iwaizumi felt so relaxed and care-free around Oikawa, and wished that they could stay like that forever.  However, he knew that it just wasn’t possible.

“As much as I’d love to stay,” Oikawa paused.  “I’m probably going to get in trouble for being out late.”

“Yeah,” Iwaizumi stood up abruptly.  “Me too, shit.”

“Just tell them you got lost or something,” Oikawa scoffed.

“True,” Iwaizumi snorted.  “Well, I’ll see you around, Tooru.”

“You too, Hajime.”

***

The next morning, after being questioned by Kuroo and Bokuto, the trio found themselves jogging through the village and to the training grounds where the soldiers would be trained.  There were many other young men in the mix, but they were obviously the most eager of them all.

“I wonder if we’ll get swords today,” Bokuto mused with a mischievous grin.  “And we’ll get to-”

“I doubt we’ll get swords in a fortnight,” Kuroo retorted.

“I have to agree with… Kuro,” Iwaizumi hesitated to use Kuroo’s nickname, looking at the latter cautiously.  The bedhead just laughed loudly and slapped Iwaizumi’s back, nearly slapping the wind out of him.  They began to slow down as they approached a large crowd, surrounding a few men that appeared to be of high status.  Their armor was crisp and clean, and they had elegant red capes that hung from their backs.

“I want to be like that someday,” Bokuto nudged his friends, grinning with determination.

“Let’s see if you can hold a sword first,” Kuroo teased.  A frown overcame Bokuto’s face as Iwaizumi stifled laughter, the group turning their attention back to the main area.  General Ushijima began to speak, clearing his throat loudly.

“Let’s get right to training, shall we?” he loudly called out.  The massive group of soldiers fell silent instantly.  “In order to be a good soldier, one must be in the best physical condition as possible.  All you will be working on for the next fortnight is physical conditioning.”  Murmurs rippled through the audience until Ushijima looked at the group with his piercing hazel eyes.  

“I will choose someone to lead the group on their run,” the general continued, walking forward.  The group of men parted as Ushijima stepped through, surveying each person quickly.  He stopped in front of a few people yet skipped past them.  His eyes landed on Kuroo, Bokuto, and Iwaizumi, and he strode over quickly.

“You, what is your name, soldier?” Ushijima walked right up to Kuroo.

“Kuroo Tetsurou,” the raven-haired man responded, standing straight as a stick.

“You will lead the group on a run.  You will run around the entire kingdom three times.”

“Yes, yes sir,” Kuroo bowed his head, and Bokuto and Iwaizumi could tell his was in shock.

“You will listen to Kuroo, here,” Ushijima announced, turning away from the three.  “Do not disappoint me.  Whenever you are ready, soldier.”

“Yes sir.”  Kuroo began jogging forward, Bokuto and Iwaizumi at his heels, as the entire group followed after them.  The stream of young men resembled a river, snaking through the vast countryside of the kingdom, everyone breathing heavily and sweating by their first lap around.

***

The next few weeks flew by more quickly than Iwaizumi could’ve imagined.  The fortnight of conditioning was the worst two weeks he had ever been through in his entire life, he decided, as the intense conditioning was so demanding and extensive.  Many young men dropped out, unable to keep up with the requirements.

It was also interesting that Ushijima took a special liking to Kuroo, which also helped Bokuto and Iwaizumi.  Ushijima seemed to call on Kuroo to lead the workouts and the groups for activities, and Iwaizumi had a feeling that Kuroo would be promoted almost immediately after becoming an official soldier.

Besides becoming more physically fit, the three friends also improved in the field of becoming a soldier: they learned how to fight hand-to-hand, with swords, using bows and arrows, and other methods.  It was definitely difficult at first, but they improved rapidly and became more consistent with their battling everyday.  

Iwaizumi and Oikawa’s meetings continued as well; at least once a week, the two would secretly meet in the evenings and exchange stories of what had happened to them recently, as well as just conversing about subjects they deemed important to discuss.  Iwaizumi enjoyed the company of Oikawa, but the feeling that they wouldn’t be able to keep it up after he would go off to war kept nagging him.

“Iwaizumi!” Bokuto broke Iwaizumi out of his thoughts.  “Kuro and I are going to get some extra archery practice in, you want to join us?”

“Um…” Iwaizumi looked away for a moment, twisting the Aster flower that had been left on his bed in between his fingers.  Oikawa wanted to meet, but with the training period coming to a close, Iwaizumi knew deep down that he needed to distance himself from Oikawa.  Not that he  _ wanted  _ to, but he  _ needed _ to.

“Worrying about your secret admirer?” Kuroo snorted, gesturing to the flower.  The two had easily caught onto the pattern of the flowers on Iwaizumi’s bed, but hadn’t made the connection that he disappeared for an hour or two whenever there was a flower on his bed.

“The lover can wait,” Iwaizumi sighed and stood up.  “Let’s hit the weaponry and then we can practice.”

“Yes!” Bokuto pumped his fist before slapping Iwaizumi’s back.  The three walked out of their quarters, lightly joking and conversing, as the flower sat emptily on the bed.

After a few hours of extra target practice in the forest, the group decided to call it a day.  It was beginning to become cloudy, and it was becoming twilight as well.  Kuroo was especially talented at archery, even though he excelled at everything in the field of battle.  Bokuto and Iwaizumi were definitely above average, but they found it difficult to keep up with their friend.

“I’m going to go for a quick walk,” Iwaizumi stood up and stretched.  “So my muscles don’t tighten up.”

“Suit yourself,” Kuroo shrugged, and the two friends resumed their conversation.  Iwaizumi grinned and walked away from them.  His mind wasn’t even on Oikawa, and was thinking about how his last arrow had hit the target in the dead center, to his surprise and satisfaction.  Before he knew it, Iwaizumi had wandered into unfamiliar territory of the forest, which was unusual, as he knew almost every part from being at the castle for many weeks.

“Where am I?” Iwaizumi asked himself, spinning around.   _ Don’t panic, don’t panic. _

“Late, surprisingly,” a voice sounded from above.  Iwaizumi looked into the tree above him and saw a figure hunched over, before it swooped down and landed on the ground.  Oikawa’s face was neutral, yet cool, and his hand was on his hip.

“Sorry, Tooru,” Iwaizumi apologized, even though his voice held a strained tone.  “I decided to practice with Kuro and Bo some more.”

“Kuro and Bo this, Kuro and Bo that,” Oikawa hissed, looking away.

“What are you talking about?”

“I’ve been replaced, haven’t I?”

“Tooru, what’s gotten into you?” Iwaizumi narrowed his eyes, not able to hide the disbelief.

“I’m obviously not important to you anymore,” Oikawa snapped.

“Why would you think that?”

“You always hang out with those other humans-”

“Because I  _ am _ a human!” Iwaizumi scoffed.

“I thought we had something special,” the fairy glared at Iwaizumi.  “But apparently not.”

“I can have other friends, you know!” Iwaizumi shouted.  “Do you think just because you’re a fairy, it makes you any better than them?!”  The words had spilled from Iwaizumi’s lips before he knew it, and he took a step back.  Oikawa’s head whipped up, staring directly at Iwaizumi.  Hurt and anger flashed through the brown of his eyes, and they almost seemed tinted with red.  Within seconds, Iwaizumi found himself pressed against the tree behind him, Oikawa pinning him there.

“Take it back!” Oikawa yelled.  

“Tooru-”

“Or do you mean it?  I’m  _ nothing _ to you,” Oikawa selfishly retorted.  Tears began to prick his eyes as he looked into Iwaizumi’s, and the human knew Oikawa was just angry and would never hurt him.

“Tooru, let me explain.”  Before Iwaizumi could say another word, a yelp escaped Oikawa’s mouth and Iwaizumi saw an arrow sticking through the fairy’s shoulder.  “Tooru!”  The fae whipped his head around and the two saw Bokuto standing there, holding his bow.  Shock was written all over his face, as well as fury.

“A fae?!” Bokuto gaped.  He threw the bow down before grabbing a large knife from his belt.  “Don’t touch him!”

“Bo!” Iwaizumi tried to stop the human from advancing further.  Oikawa, still gripping onto his shoulder in pain, spun around, and a beam of light left the palm of his left hand.  Bokuto rolled to the left, easily avoiding the attack.

“Stop!” Iwaizumi pleaded, but the two were entranced in their duel.  Bokuto further moved toward Oikawa, and actually got fairly close to the fairy.  Oikawa’s powers were weaker than usual, since he was distracted by his injury, until he tore the arrow from his shoulder.  He rapidly fired streams of light at Bokuto, the human narrowly avoiding them.

“Tooru, Bokuto!” Iwaizumi stumbled forward.  Bokuto raised his knife to throw it at the fae, but Oikawa’s power shot out of his hands.  Iwaizumi felt his stomach drop as he watched the bright, golden light of Oikawa’s powers become a dark, inky purple.  The stream of darkness seized hold of Bokuto and lifted him off of the ground, quickly slithering around him.  The human writhed, letting out howls of pain.  Oikawa’s face turned from determination to fear as he realized he couldn’t control what he had just unleashed.

“Hajime!” Oikawa cried out, looking between the two humans.  Suddenly, the darkness vanished and Bokuto fell limply to the ground.

“Bokuto!” Iwaizumi almost screamed, rushing over to his friend.  He looked back up at Oikawa, who was panting and shaking, staring at his hands.  Iwaizumi felt around Bokuto’s neck and wrist for a pulse, only to find nothing.

“I don’t know what happened,” the fae whimpered.

“What’s going on?” a voice called out.

“Tooru, hide!” Iwaizumi demanded.

“They’ll think you did this!” Oikawa argued.

“Please,” Iwaizumi’s face crumpled.  “ _ Please _ , hide.”  He grabbed Bokuto’s knife and stabbed his just-killed friend, gritting his teeth and clenching his eyes.  Iwaizumi wanted to leave a mark of death because it would look extremely suspicious if there wasn’t anything there.

“Iwaizumi, Bo?” Kuroo stepped through the brush and looked over to see a sobbing Iwaizumi and a bloody Bokuto.

“Kuro, I can explain-”

“Koutarou!” Kuroo sprinted over and shoved Iwaizumi out of the way with sheer force.  He dropped to his knees and grabbed at his former friend, trying to find something,  _ anything _ .  A choked sob erupted from the figure as he held Bokuto’s hand to his cheek, before whipping his head around to Iwaizumi.  “What did you do?!”

“It was an accident!” Iwaizumi cried out.  Pure rage and hatred seared through Kuroo’s golden eyes.

“You  _ killed  _ him!” his voice was rough and didn’t sound anything like the Kuroo Iwaizumi knew..

“What’s going on here?!” Ushijima’s recognizable voice questioned as he and a group of high-status soldiers appeared.  Ushijima’s face bore pure astonishment as they took in the sight.

“He killed him!” Kuroo pointed at Iwaizumi, before looking back at Bokuto’s body and continuing to weep.

“Is… is this true?” Ushijima knelt down by Bokuto’s body.

“It was an accident!” Iwaizumi lied.  “I thought he was something else, and -”

“I am deeply disappointed,” Ushijima cut him off.  “You and Bokuto were becoming great soldiers, too.  And now, we’ll have to punish you.”

“Punish?” Iwaizumi breathed.

“You will be hanged tomorrow,” the general declared, standing up.  Suddenly, hands grabbed Iwaizumi’s arms and lifted him up as his tear-streaked face gazed upon his former friend.

“Hanged…?”

“It is one of the greatest offenses to kill a soldier on your own side,” Ushijima bitterly replied.  “Matsukawa, Hanamaki, let’s go.  We need assistance to bring the body back.”  Iwaizumi let out a weak sob as he was practically dragged away from the scene, leaving a miserable Kuroo and a slain Bokuto on the ground.

Oikawa stared from high in a tree, watching as the situation unfolded.  He then looked at his hands,  _ his hands.   _ The same ones that had killed Iwaizumi’s ally, the same ones that allowed for such dark, vile magic to explode forth from.  The same ones that had gently stroked Iwaizumi’s head after he had tripped over a tree root and sprained his ankle, the same ones that held his hand when they went exploring… the same ones that caused his best friend to be scheduled to die because he had taken the blame.

“I will be back,” Oikawa murmured, clenching his fists.  He flew into the air, glancing down at the poor human as he grieved for his fallen friend, before shooting off towards the mountains.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> killing off a character that is just introduced into the same chapter part 1
> 
> okay but honestly thiS WAS SO HARD FOR ME TO WRITE IM SORRY IM LATE POSTING IT AHHH SCHOOL HATES ME (luckily i have 4 more days and then im FREEEEEE)
> 
> i hope you guys like it though, please don't destroy me! *hides behind table*


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note: there will be a character's death this chapter and some blood. read at your own risk.

“So what you’re telling me is…” Akaashi paused, his mouth slightly open.  His slate gray eyes burned into Oikawa’s brown as Oikawa finished his story.  “You’ve been meeting with a human, which is against fae code, then followed him and still meet him after he left, accidentally killed his friend, and now expect me to help you break him out of prison even though you’ve treated me terribly for the past few weeks?”

“... yes.”  Oikawa exhaled and looked away.  What he was asking from Akaashi  _ was _ ridiculously unreasonable, and after Akaashi had just stated the facts directly back to Oikawa without the bias and emotion, it sounded awful.

“Oikawa, we’ve been friends since we were little,” Akaashi said blatantly.  “But I can’t.  And you could get in  _ serious  _ trouble if they found out you’ve been interacting with a human for years!  You could get exiled!”

“You’re going to tell them?” Oikawa’s jaw dropped.

“No,” Akaashi shook his head.  “But I don’t want to be involved with this.  I’m sorry.”

“What am I going to do?” Oikawa paced in front of his friend.  “This is all my fault.  I… I just don’t know what to do, Keiji!”  He ran his hand through his hair, his fingers finding his horns and wrapping around them.  Akaashi stood in silence, observing Oikawa.

“What exactly do you plan to do if you  _ did _ get this, um, Iwaizumi out of prison?” Akaashi inquired.  Oikawa stopped in his tracks and bit his lip, thinking.

“I don’t know,” he mumbled, turning to face his friend.  “I didn’t think any of this through, and-” Oikawa stopped mid-sentence, looking up at the sky.  The moon was already a quarter of the way through the sky.  “I only have until dawn.”  He stared up at the sky and blinked a few times, wishing that this whole day hadn’t happened.   _ What about all those days spent with Iwaizumi, all those  _ years _?  Was it really worth it, looking at it in the present _ ?

“As much as I hate to say it,” Akaashi walked over to Oikawa and placed a hand on his shoulder.  “I’ll… I’ll help you.”

“You will?!” Oikawa turned to Akaashi and searched Akaashi’s face.  He was obviously concerned and unwilling, but he vowed their friendship.  “Thank you, thank you!”

“We better go now, though.”  The two faes leapt into the air, flapping their wings aggressively as they flew into the dark sky.  Their figures blurred with their swift travel through the cloudy sky.  “You do know where you’re going, right?”

“Of course I do,” Oikawa scoffed, flying in front of Akaashi.  “Well, now that I’ve said it, it sounds like I’ve visited Iwaizumi too much.”

“You probably have.”

“I have.”

“What’s so interesting about this human, anyways?” Akaashi questioned.  His tone wasn’t rude, but he just didn’t know Iwaizumi like Oikawa did: the way his eyes lit up when he figured something new out, the way he smiled somewhat lopsidedly, and the way scrunched his nose when he was frustrated.  Those things were all personal to Oikawa, intricate details only  _ he _ knew.  “Tooru?”

“Sorry,” Oikawa apologized.  “It’s just… I don’t know how to explain it.  I randomly met him on some day 12 years ago and I just kind of felt this  _ connection _ to him.  It’s not like I wanted to keep going back to the forest to see him, but I felt like I needed to and eventually… it just stuck.  It felt ‘off’ when I  _ didn’t _ see him.”  Akaashi studied his friend, nodding his head slowly in response.

“Honestly, I don’t really understand that,” the gray-winged fae admitted.  “But I’m willing to help if he means this much to you.”

“And that means the world to me.”

“What are we going to do, exactly?”

“Well…” Oikawa trailed off and looked up to the brightly illuminated moon, peeking through a few wispy clouds.  “Let’s figure out the plan.”

***

Oikawa narrowed his eyes as they approached the kingdom.  The village was completely dark as they flew over, beginning to descend towards the human territory.

“Are you sure you know where this prison is?” Akaashi quietly asked as the two glided down.

“Yes,” Oikawa whispered.  “I saw them… I saw them bring Iwaizumi there.”  They approached a wing of the giant stone building and landed on the ground.  “We need to find Iwaizumi’s cell, though.”

“What does he look like?”

“Spiky-brown hair… hazel eyes…” Oikawa silently flew around the windows of the tower, looking in for Iwaizumi.

“That helps, especially in the darkness,” Akaashi grumbled, following Oikawa’s lead.

“You know wh - wait,” Oikawa stopped and grabbed the rails of the window, peering in.  “It’s him.”  Oikawa’s heart hurt as saw a sleeping Iwaizumi slumped against the wall, handcuffs wrapped tightly around his wrists as they chained him to the wall.

“Iwa-chan,” Oikawa murmured.  “Iwa-chan!”  The human’s head jerked back, before he opened his eyes and took a deep breath.  He turned his head and was obviously shocked to see Oikawa’s face peering in, relief flooding through his countenance.

“Tooru?” Iwaizumi attempted to rush to the window, only to be yanked back by the chains.  

“Hajime,” Oikawa reached his hand through the bars, trying to grasp for Iwaizumi, only to not be able to reach.  “We’re going to get you out of here.”

“We?”

“Hello,” Akaashi peered over Oikawa’s shoulder as he floated in the air, his strong wings flapping gently.

“Uh, hello,” Iwaizumi greeted awkwardly.  “I’m Iwaizumi.”

“I’ve heard a lot about you,” Akaashi commented.  “I’m Akaashi.”

“Okay, introductions are great and all, but we’re not going to have a lot of time,” Oikawa cut them off.  “Iwaizumi, you need to stand as far away from the wall as possible.

“Tooru, what are you-”

“I’m not,” Oikawa let go of the window bars and flew backwards.  “Akaashi is.”

“May I ask what you’re going to do?” Iwaizumi stepped away cautiously.

“I’m going to destroy the wall,” Akaashi explained.  “It’s going to be kind of dangerous, but I’ll try to cushion it as much as possible.”

“Okay,” Iwaizumi nodded and walked into the corner of the room, crouching down.  “We have to hurry, though, or they’ll be onto us quickly.”

“It shouldn’t take too long,” Oikawa replied, sending a glance towards Akaashi.  The other fae purposefully didn’t look at Oikawa and instead raised his hands, closing his eyes in concentration.  The air rippled with waves and the sound of the stones moving was heard, but nothing happened.  Akaashi stopped and looked at his hands and, taking a deep breath, tried again.  He grunted slightly and seemed to put his whole body into the force.  The stones were moving, but not coming apart.

“Tooru,” Akaashi panted and slouched over slightly.  “It’s not working.  My powers aren’t strong enough.”

“Keiji, you can do this,” Oikawa pressed.  “Please.”

“I’m going to overwork myself if I do,” Akaashi’s gaze shifted anxiously.  “But I’ll try my best.”  Akaashi paused doubtedly; after a few moments of preparation, he aggressively beat his wings and thrust his arms forward, a huge wave of air moving into the wall.  A crack split through the stone and it broke through, bits of stones and brick flying into the cell.  Iwaizumi held his arm up, but fortunately was not hit by any of the debris.  Oikawa immediately flew into the cell and grabbed Iwaizumi, hugging him tightly.

“I’m sorry for all of this,” Oikawa profusely apologized, unlocking the handcuffs with his magic.  “This is all my fault, and-”

“Tooru,” Iwaizumi silenced the fae.  They embraced once more before turning around to see Akaashi.  He was kneeling on the ground, breathing heavily, before he looked up at Oikawa.

“Sorry,” Akaashi stood up rapidly.

“Are you okay?” Iwaizumi furrowed his eyebrows as he looked at the fae.

“I’m fine.”

“We should go,” Oikawa ordered, and the group heard the sounds of talking and hastened footsteps drawing closer to the cell.

“I agree,” Iwaizumi nodded his head.  “But how is this going to work.”

“C’mon.”  Akaashi flew into the air, flapping his wings and propelling himself into the sky.  Oikawa grabbed Iwaizumi’s torso and flew up into the air.  “Shit!”

“This isn’t going to work!” Iwaizumi shouted as the wind hit their faces.

“It will,” Oikawa grunted, adjusting his grip on Iwaizumi.  They followed after a slow Akaashi, who also looked to be struggling.  “I’m just not used to extra weight.  Speaking of which, is that more muscle I’m feeling?”

“Please just focus on not dropping me!”

“Fine.”  Oikawa tightly, yet not too uncomfortably, held onto Iwaizumi as the three soared through the air.  Iwaizumi glanced over at Akaashi, who looked dazed and weak.

“Something’s wrong,” Iwaizumi gestured to the other fae.

“Keiji!” Oikawa called.

“I’m… fine…” Akaashi replied faintly.  Suddenly, the gray-winged fairy exhaled, before his eyes closed and he was falling through the sky.

“Akaashi!” Oikawa called out.  He dove after his friend, falling much faster than he had expected with the extra weight of Iwaizumi.  “Iwa-chan, grab him!”  A drop of water suddenly hit Oikawa’s eyelash and he blinked in surprise, but kept diving through the air.  Akaashi was falling just as fast as Oikawa and Iwaizumi, and they were struggling to keep up.

“We’re going to hit the ground!” Iwaizumi yelped.  Oikawa realized how close they were to the ground and, in a split second decision, dove towards Akaashi’s limp body.  He somehow managed to flip himself over and Iwaizumi grabbed Akaashi; the added weight caused Oikawa to puff a breath of air out and suddenly, they hit the ground.

The wind was knocked out of Oikawa as they slid along the dirt, his wings becoming stained with brown.  A searing pain shot through his shoulder and he let out a cry as he clutched Iwaizumi, who was holding Akaashi, to his chest.  Iwaizumi gently lifted Akaashi off of him with a grunt and lay him down before turning to face Oikawa.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” Oikawa pushed himself up but obviously cringed in pain as it felt like a thousand knives stabbed his back and the place where his wings connected to his back.

“No, you’re not,” Iwaizumi crawled over to the fae and looked at him with concern.

“Akaashi’s in worse shape than me,” Oikawa insisted, and he stood up shakily, walking over to his unconscious friend.

“How long until he wakes up?”

“It could be a few minutes, or a few hours.”

“We don’t have that kind of time.”

“I know,” Oikawa bit the inside of his cheek and pressed a hand to Akaashi’s neck.  There was still a heartbeat.  The drizzle falling from the sky had progressively gotten stronger, and they now sat in the midst of a downpour.  Lightning shot across the sky from cloud to cloud, and roars of thunder followed closely behind.

“Fuck,” Oikawa whispered.

“What?”

“It’s hard enough to fly in rain,” he answered.  “But in a storm?  No way in Fae’s earth.”  Oikawa’s hair hung in front of his eyes and he wiped the soaked strands away to see Iwaizumi kneeling on the ground.

“I wish I could just go back in time,” the human whispered.  “And not do this.”

“Do what?”

“Come to the kingdom.  Become a soldier.”  Iwaizumi stood up and jumped slightly as a deafening rumble of thunder shook the ground.  “It would all be fine if I just stayed back in Eldham, stayed with you…”

“Hajime,” Oikawa grabbed his companion’s shoulder.  “Don’t blame yourself for this.  You were just following your dreams and I was selfish and wanted you for myself.   _ I’m _ sorry.”  They stayed like that for a moment, just staring at each other with unsaid understanding.  They both sighed and looked at Akaashi as he lay on the ground, an almost peaceful expression resting on his face.  They heard more sounds in the distance, and Oikawa stood up straighter when he heard what sounded like yelling.

“Are those…?”

“People,” Iwaizumi clenched his jaw.  “We need to hide.”

“You go,” Oikawa ordered.  “Run away, back in that direction.”  The fairy pointed towards the mountains hiding in the distance.

“What?  Are you crazy?”

“I’ll hide Iwaizumi, then I can fend them off.”

“I’m not leaving you.”

“Yes, you are.  Now  _ go _ .”

“But Tooru-”

“Go, Hajime!  Before it’s too late!” Oikawa shouted, his chest moving up-and-down.  “Please.”  Iwaizumi’s hazel eyes shifted uncertainly, before he looked away and ran off with a curt nod.  Oikawa lifted Akaashi up from the ground and scanned the vicinity for some brush to hide Akaashi near.  Unfortunately, they were in the middle of a field, with only a few trees surrounding them.

“There!” a voice called.  Oikawa whipped his head around, but too late.  An arrow hit him in the same shoulder as before, and a cry of pain escaped from his lips.  He grabbed his shoulder, dropping Akaashi, as his face crumpled in agony.  Another arrow hit him in the leg shortly after, and he fell to the ground.  Multiple men rushed forward and surrounded him, their swords raised.  A particular soldier broke through and looked at the fairy as he kneeled on the ground.

“A  _ fairy? _ ” a soldier cried out.

“Stay away from us,” Oikawa snarled.

“Where did the prisoner go?” the stranger demanded.  He had untamed black hair and golden-brown eyes that seemed filled with anger and hurt, as well as shock from standing face-to-face with a fae.  Oikawa realized it was the friend of the one he had killed.

“Why would I tell you?” Oikawa hissed in between his pounding pain.

“I didn’t think you would give it up, you fairy-scum,” the soldier retorted.  “If you’re not going to help us, you’re of no use.”  The knight raised his sword up and Oikawa felt a tear slip down his face as he bowed his head, accepting his fate.   _ Run Hajime, run.  And don’t look back _ .

Oikawa glanced up as he watched the shiny metal weapon swing down, only it didn’t hit him.  Instead, a figure dove in front of Oikawa, falling on top of him as the sword struck the figure down.  The attacker stepped back in shock, and Oikawa turned the body over to see who it was.  Iwaizumi lay on Oikawa, a scream of pain leaving his body.  Oikawa gasped as he saw a large gash running from Iwaizumi’s left shoulder to his right hip, blood already pouring from the wound.

“Hajime!” Oikawa howled.  When Oikawa looked back up, all he saw was red; he felt every muscle in his body tense as he stood up, his wings spreading out.  Oikawa jerked his hand up and a ball of dark magic appeared in his hand, growing in size as he spent precious moments waiting as the rain poured over him.  The soldiers looked afraid, particularly the one in front, as he stepped back, wide-eyed.  Oikawa let out a fury-spurred yell as he forced his hand forward, the dark magic spilling from his palm.  It seized hold of the soldiers, throwing some backwards, and choking others.  Screams of pain mingled with the roar of rain and the booms of thunder as Oikawa stood there, bringing his hand back to his side once the men were all lying on the ground unmoving.  Oikawa’s attention went directly back to Iwaizumi, who was laying on the blood-pooled ground.   
“Hajime,” Oikawa murmured as he bent down to examine his wounds.  They were much to severe for the little healing magic he knew: he needed to get to Suga immediately.  Oikawa looked up at Akaashi, who was just beginning to wake up, rubbing his head in confusion.

“Tooru… Tooru what happened?” Akaashi questioned.

“They, they hurt-” Oikawa stuttered, gesturing between Iwaizumi and the numerous men laying around the area.  Akaashi shifted forward, looking at Iwaizumi, before his eyes bulged.

“Shit,” Akaashi cursed, leaning forward and lightly touching Iwaizumi’s wounds.  The human’s expression shifted slightly, in pain, as the other fae’s hands brushed his skin.

“How are we going to get back?” Oikawa panicked.

“We’re going to fly back and try to carry him,” Akaashi stood up, unbalanced.  “We need to go before it gets worse.”  Oikawa immediately stood up and the two grabbed a half of Iwaizumi after covering his massive wound with his shirt.  The thunder and lightning had disappeared, so that was no longer a threat to the fairies.  They somehow figured out how to fly and hold him at the same time, taking off into the sky; they couldn’t go as quickly as they would have wanted, but they flew as quickly as possible.

“Are you okay?” Oikawa questioned.

“Yeah,” Akaashi replied slowly.  “I’ve been better, but my strength is returning.”

“I’m so sorry about all of this.”  Akaashi didn’t reply, because no matter what he said, it would’ve been wrong.  Their situation wasn’t ‘okay,’ nor was it ‘fine’ or worthy of an ‘I forgive you.’  Guilt flooded over Oikawa as he looked between a weak but conscious Akaashi and an injured Iwaizumi.

“Do you think he’ll… live?”  There was silence between the two as they flew through the rain.  A drop would hit Oikawa’s face every few moments, startling him, but he kept a strong grip on Iwaizumi.  Oikawa held onto Iwaizumi’s torso and neck, while Akaashi supported his legs.

“I do,” Akaashi said.  “I think Suga will be able to help him.”  Relief flooded through Oikawa as they flew over ‘his and Iwaizumi’s’ forest, and a pang of nostalgia lodged itself in the fairy’s heart.  The mountains were just up ahead and hope surged through Oikawa as they landed on the top of the mountain plateau, where the council meetings were typically held.  Oikawa and Akaashi placed Iwaizumi down and both nearly collapsed from exhaustion kneeling on the ground.  A group of fairy’s heard the commotion and immediately flew up to the location, gasping.  Tendou, Noya, and Futakuchi, a fae with earth-powers, were among the group.

“A human?!” Noya incredulously exclaimed, hovering from a distance.

“What do we have here?” Tendou cocked his head to the side and crossed his arms with a smirk.

“Isn’t this against fae law?” Futakuchi questioned.  Murmurs spread through the group of fae’s until Sawamura, Sugawara, and Ukai appeared.  The three faes were obviously shocked as they took the sight in.  Oikawa had begun to cry as he clung to a pale Iwaizumi, who wasn’t moving anymore.

“Sugawara, help!” Oikawa shouted.  Suga looked unsure of what to do, until Ukai sent him forward.  The medicine fairy began to examine Iwaizumi before sucking a breath in.

“We need to bring him to the medicine hut,” Suga declared.  He began flying in the direction, while Akaashi and Oikawa followed as quickly as their tired bodies would allow them to, holding onto Iwaizumi.  It felt like Oikawa had blinked twice before he was looking down at Iwaizumi after Sugawara had taken the human’s shirt off, looking at the injuries, worry etched into his soft face.

“I’ll… I’ll try my best,” Suga began flicking his fingers and hands softly as a soft pink magic appeared, weaving in and out of Iwaizumi’s body.  The blood kept dripping from the wound, though, and Oikawa felt as if his lungs were being crushed as he watched the healing fairy try to repair the damage.

“Oikawa, you need to sit and rest,” Sawamura had appeared behind him and rested a hand on the fairy’s shoulder.  “You look… exhausted.”

“No,” Oikawa jerked his shoulder away from Sawamura, a searing pain shooting through his shoulder as he did so.  “I have to stay here with him.”  Oikawa’s eyes darted from Iwaizumi’s body to Sugawara; the gray-haired fae appeared more and more frustrated as the process continued.  Oikawa turned to look at the sky, watching as the moon dipped closer and closer to the horizon.

“Suga, how’s it looking?”

“Tooru,” Suga gently placed his hands down.  “I can’t save him.”

It felt like a rock had been thrown at Oikawa square in the chest.  No, it was worse that a rock; as if someone took a knife, stabbed him in the chest, and continued to twist the knife, moving it up and down sharply.  He stumbled backwards, his mouth open, and tears immediately sprung into his eyes.

“Please,” Oikawa begged, his voice cracking.  “Koushi, please!”

“Tooru, I can’t!” Suga looked down at his hands.  “I physically do not have the powers.”

“Then there must be someone, some fae, that can do this,” Oikawa blurted, moving around in a frenzied manner, running his hands through his hair.  “We can save him, we  _ need _ to save him-”

“Tooru!” Sugawara grabbed him, and Oikawa’s vision was drawn to the tears in Sugawara’s vision.  “If I could save him, I would.  But I cannot, and I am eternally sorry.”

“No… no.”

“I can do one thing, though,” Sugawara sighed.  “I can use a spell that will revive his consciousness, and you will have approximately two minutes to talk to him.”

“Or?”

“Or he will die in about 10 minutes from his wounds.”  Oikawa bit his lip and clenched eyes as tears streamed down his face, an ugly sob shaking his body.

“The spell.”

“Okay.”  Sugawara took a deep breath in and closed his eyes before waving his hand over Iwaizumi’s body.  A faint blew mist appeared out of Sugawara’s hand and gently fell over Iwaizumi’s limp body; the human’s body seemed to glow and he opened his eyes, looking at a grief-stricken Oikawa.  Sugawara left the small hut, leaving the two by alone.

“Hajime,” Oikawa choked, grabbing the human’s shoulders as he lay on the make-shift table.

“Tooru,” Iwaizumi smiled sadly, grabbing the fae’s cheek with one hand.  His fingers were rough, yet perfect, as they caressed his face.

“I’m sorry,” Oikawa cried.  “I’m so, so sorry.”

“It’s too late to apologize,” Iwaizumi exhaled, gently touching his wounds before laughing lightly.  “It doesn’t even hurt.”

“You’re an idiot,” Oikawa mumbled, a sorrowful laugh coming from his mouth as Iwaizumi wiped the tears away.  “What am I going to do without you?”

“Live,” Iwaizumi responded simply.  “I was going to die anyways, Tooru.  It just happened to be…  _ now _ .”

“But… I don’t want you to leave.”

“I don’t either, but I have to.  I’d rather you live than me, Tooru.  You have so much to live for.”

“Not without you!”

“Hey, hey,” Iwaizumi grabbed Oikawa’s face with both of his hands, making the fae’s tear-filled eyes stare into his own hazel.  “Always remember that… that I love you, okay?”

“You love me?”

“Yes, I love you, you dumbass,” Iwaizumi smiled.  “You have been there for me since I was young and still are now.  I thought I just liked you as a friend… but fuck it, at this point.”

“Why are you telling me  _ now  _ when you’re dying?” Oikawa whispered, his face inching closer to Iwaizumi’s.

“Don’t ask why.”  Suddenly, their lips were together and Oikawa’s breathing hitched in his throat: this was definitely not the way he wanted to kiss Hajime, but if this was how their first and last kiss would be, he would take it in a heartbeat.  Their lips delicately connected and moved in sync as they held each other, blood from Iwaizumi’s torso beginning to drip down his arms.  They broke away for a moment and looked each other in the eyes before Iwaizumi let out a shaky breath.

“Remember me,” his voice was filled with pleading.  “Remember I love you, and remember us.”

“I always will,” Oikawa replied.  Iwaizumi began to lay back down, his chest heaving up and down.  “Hajime!”

“I love you, and that’s all that matters.”  Iwaizumi touched Oikawa’s arm, but after one last breath, it weakly slid down until it lay on his bloodied chest.  Oikawa stared at Iwaizumi in shock and distress.  One moment ago, he was intimately embracing his companion, yet the next he was sitting alone.  Oikawa didn’t dare to breathe, afraid he would shatter the emotional atmosphere, as the sound of pouring rain echoed from outside.  He simply stood up, brushing his hand against Iwaizumi’s and walked outside, where a group of fairies waited anxiously.

Oikawa didn’t remember collapsing onto the ground with a shrill yelp, didn’t remember the tears that mercilessly fell down his red cheeks, didn’t remember the arms of Akaashi wrapping around him and trying to lift him up.  He just tried to remember the look in Iwaizumi’s eyes before he faded away from him, right from his arms.

***

It had been 3 sunrises since the death of Iwaizumi.  Oikawa had been left alone by all the faes except for Akaashi, who periodically checked in on him.  Oikawa had spent the past few days hiding in a private cave, barely eating and drinking.  Sometimes, Akaashi would come in and find him sitting with his back to the wall, his head tilted back in thought.  Other times, he would fly in to see Oikawa sobbing and almost screaming.

“Tooru,” Akaashi gently prodded on the third day.  He let his wings relax by his side as he sympathetically gazed at his friend.  Oikawa didn’t say anything and instead looked up at the charcoal-winged fairy.  “We have to go.”

“Where?” he muttered coolly.

“To…” Akaashi paused and swallowed, looking away.  “Your trial.”

“My trial?” Oikawa exhaled, standing up on shaky legs.

“I’m sorry,” Akaashi looked away, emotional pain visible on his face.  “I didn’t want for this to happen, I fought this!  But what you did is against fae code.”  Oikawa wordlessly followed Akaashi out of the secluded cave and leapt into the air, spreading his strong wings and flapping them forcefully.  Akaashi lead the way down into the mountain valley, into the center of their village.  Fairies of all types watched warily, whispering as the two flew overhead the entire group.  All of the socially-powerful faes standing around a platform.  Oikawa and Akaashi landed in the center of it, until Akaashi darted to the edge.  Oikawa gave his friend a nervous look, but Akaashi looked away.

“Oikawa Tooru,” Ukai’s voice rang through the vicinity, silencing the hundreds of other fairies.  “What you have done is against every moral of the fairy code: interacting with a human, developing a relationship with a human, and even going as far as putting the lives of other faes in danger in order to protect a human.”  Oikawa remained silent as the speech continued.  “We at the council have decided that there is only one option.  I hereby declare you exiled from our society, and if you ever return, you will be killed.”  A rumble of astonishment traveled through the crowd.  Oikawa looked at all the higher ranking fairies: Futakuchi, Noya, and Akaashi all looked devastated and about to protest, but kept their mouths shut.  Semi and Tendou looked indifferent, but Daichi looked disappointed and even angry.

“I accept my fate,” Oikawa announced as loudly as his dry throat would allow.  Gasps and protests from the crowd ensued.  “But I’ve decided… I’ve decided I’m not going to let these humans control us and keep us living in constant fear.  I’m going to create an army that will become one of the strongest forces in existence, and we will take back what is rightfully ours!”  Oikawa paused and turned back around to face the Council.  “And if you wish to join me, you may.”  He flew into the air with a new type of pride and power as he gazed upon the people, the images of Iwaizumi’s body flashing in his mind.  He pushed his feelings to the back and lifted his arms.  “Join me if you want to be recognized as the power we are!”  The Council watched in shock as about a third of the fairies flew into the air, after Oikawa.  Daichi and Akaashi whipped their heads around to face each other, their mouths wide open and their eyes blazing with confusion.

“I guess this is goodbye,” Tendou commented, flying into the air and next to Oikawa.

“Tendou, don’t!” Nishinoya yelled.  Semi took off from next to Noya and mingled in with the rest of the fairies.

“We’ve been silent for too long!” Tendou shot back.  “We can’t just live in ‘peaceful fear’ anymore.  If we want actual freedom, we need to  _ fight _ !”  Tendou flew higher into the air as the rest of the fairies followed, leaving Oikawa flying alone in the air.

“Tooru, why?!” Akaashi flew up into the air, looking at him with pure betrayal.

“Look what the humans did to Hajime,” Oikawa spat.  “They’re only going to continue with their violence, and we need to stop it before it turns to  _ us _ .”

“You’re making a mistake!” Akaashi called as Oikawa flew farther away.

“No, Keiji.  I think  _ you _ are.”  At that, Oikawa nearly disappeared in the horizon as he followed the other group of fairies and Tendou, wherever they were going.  Akaashi flew back to the ground, clenching his fists in anger.

“What are we going to do?” Yahaba questioned as the council circled around, the crowd of remaining faes growing nervous and impatient.

“We’re going to stay here,” Daichi stepped forward, Ukai giving him an approving look.  “We’re going to stay here and let them destroy themselves.  They won’t last long once the fairies realize what they’re getting themselves into.”

“Are you sure?” Futakuchi asked.  Akaashi stopped paying attention to them as his eyes were drawn to something, lingering on the ground.  He stepped away from the circle, the group’s eyes trailing after him, as he walked over and picked the object up.  It was a feather from Oikawa’s wing: the pure white of the feather was a dark, inky black at the bottom of it, where it attached to his wing.

“I don’t know how peacefully we will be living,” Akaashi murmured, turning to face the group.  “While we have Tooru leading an army against us.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im sorry for all the people who were like "if Iwaizumi dies i am going to be angry" like
> 
> whoops my hand slipped
> 
> but seriously... this is heartbreaking to write oh my goodness.
> 
> HOWEVER.
> 
> since the ending is kind of left off on a weird note... there WILL be a second part to this fic! it will be a separate story but it is the sequel to this one! i will probably not post it until July or later, though, so I can have time to work on it.
> 
> Despite the sadness, I hope you guys liked this fic. Thank you all for your love and support!


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